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Stevens and Williams Jades

By Beth Shaut and Lenora Howard

I have asked two knowledgeable people to write an article on Stevens and
Williams Jade Glass. This glass is often mistakenly identified as Steuben.
Hopefully this article will clear up some of that confusion between the two.
Beth Shaut is the manager of Robert Rockwellís Carder Steuben Shop in Corning,
NY, and has been working with this glass for many years. Much of her training
has come from Bob Rockwell himself. Lenora Howard became interested and started
actively collecting Stevens and Williams jade glass several years ago. She has
gleaned her knowledge from the scant printed information available on this
glass, as well as also being trained by Bob Rockwell.

Stevens and Williams made many different types of glass among which the jades
are only a very small portion of their production. Their most highly recognized
and best known type is their English Cut Cameo pieces.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion as to when Stevens and Williams
produced these jade pieces. Often, these pieces are identified as having been
produced by Frederick Carder before he left England to form Steuben with Hawkes.
There is further confusion as to some of the colors produced by S&W because
several are very similar to Steuben. We include a photo of the eight known
S&W colors.

As you will notice, both green and blue are represented by a dark shade and a
light shade. Left to right, back row: Yellow jade, dark green jade, dark blue
jade, light green jade. Left to right, front row: Amethyst jade, light blue
jade, apricot jade, and rose jade. The yellow jade is not a true yellow, but has
a slight green cast. The apricot jade is unique to S&W. Carder did not
produce this shade at Steuben. Also, there should be no confusion between
S&Wís amethyst jade and Steubenís wonderful plum jade.

Even though there is confusion, the colors of S&Wís jades and of
Steubenís jades are not the same. S&Wís colors are "softer",
more pastel-like in nature, where Steubenís colors are generally brighter and
more vibrant. This is due to the fact that S&W jades have a thin casing of
opal glass which produces the softer effect. Further, the S&W
"alabaster" is generally more gray in color than Steubenís
alabaster. In fact, it is often referred to in England and on the continent as a
"clambroth" color.

Some of the shapes are attributed to Steuben, but were produced solely by
Stevens and Williams. This is particularly true of the cordial, which is often
misidentified as Steuben. This is a photo of the cordial shape produced by
S&W. It came in all eight colors. The same is true of the martini shape,
which has exactly the same stem, but a wider and shallower profile on the bowl.
It is easy to understand how an untrained eye would be confused. These various
stems came in all the colors. To view a larger image of this photo, simply click
on the photo.

A further source of confusion is found in the powder boxes and other covered
shapes. One of the defining characteristics of S&W is the ground,
flat-topped finial found on these pieces. Steuben did not use this type of
finial. It is found on most covered Stevens and Williams jade pieces. If a
ground, flat-topped finial is seen, the first thought for identification should
be Stevens and Williams, not Steuben. Again, the colors are the same as those
shown in the first photo in this article. To view a larger image of this photo,
simply click on the photo.

It is also difficult for many people to differentiate the sherbets of these
two glass manufacturers. The sherbet pictured here is done in S&W rose jade.
Note the short stem, which defines a S&W piece. Unfortunately,
identification is made even more difficult by the fact that the Gardner book
shows short-stemmed shapes in Steuben. However, when one comes across a sherbet
with the short stem, the first reaction should be Stevens & Williams. We
then must go back to color identification, including the opal casing on the
glass for S&W. Most short-stemmed sherbets found today are Stevens &
Williams. These sherbets also came in all eight colors. To view a larger image
of this photo, simply click on the photo.

Now as to time frame: Most knowledgeable people today very strongly believe
that these Stevens & Williams jades were NOT done by Carder before he left
England. It is now the feeling that they were produced no earlier than the
mid-teens, probably the 1920ís. There may have even been a few produced in the
early 1930ís. Certainly these jades were most likely based on experimentation
and formulas worked on by Carder before he left S&W. Steuben produced their
jades from the early 1920ís on. It is felt that it is highly unlikely that
Stevens & Williams jades pre-dated the production and success of Steuben
jades.

We hope that this article will clear up many of the common misconceptions and
mis-identifications between S&W and Steuben jades. We realize that some
unusual pieces will still be open to debate. In a short article like this, not
everything can be covered, nor was that attempt made. If you have further
questions, please email them to this site. They will be forwarded to us.

Value Guide

As with all price
guides, this is simply a guide. Prices may vary by regions, etc.

Type of Glass

Approximate Price

Stemware-Tall Stemmed Cordial

$110.00

Stemware-Tall Stemmed Wine

$115.00

Stemware-Tall Stemmed Champagne

$125.00

Stemware-Water

$150.00

Demi cup & saucer-various colors

$175.00-195.00

Plates-Entree or Dessert

$110.00

Plates-Underplates

$65.00

Finger bowls-Sets w/ underplate

$250.00

Sherbet w/ underplate

$210.00

Parfait/juice

$145.00

Shrimp Sets-bowl w/ insert

$395.00

Without insert $295.00

Vases-depending on size and rarity

$200.00-700.00

Covered Jars-depending on size and rarity

$300.00-700.00

Covered Powder-depending on size & shape

$300.00-700.00

Perfumes-depending on size and shape

$250.00-600.00

Most of the above are actual, realized
sale prices. That is not necessarily true of the vases, covered jars, covered
powders, and perfumes as it would be impossible to have handled all the
variations in size, color, and shape. As a general rule, the larger the
piece and the more unusual and rare the shape, the higher the value.